I just broke my Haolilai 801.

I had it on the bathroom counter, dissassembled for complete cleaning when my cat jumped up and in an effort to shoo him away from batting around the piston converter, I snagged the nib section in the sleeve of my robe and knocked it to the floor. It hit the titles and broke off the feed mechanism behind the nib .

The tines are fine. It's the plastic bit that feeds ink to the tines that snapped clean off. No, this is not a part that's meant to dissassemble.

Really, I don't care what the rest of you think. From here on out I'm cleaning out all of my pens straight into the toilet. Because that way they are either gripped tightly in my hand or resting on paper towels on the floor and have no place to fall.

And now, I still have to go clean watery ink residue out of the sink and off the counter.


---

Is it possible that a carefully placed, itsy bitsy of dab of superglue might work?

I'm going to need a few minutes to myself after this news.

You could clean your pens at work in the sink. No cat there.

As a cat owner, I can definitely relate. In my home, we have felt the temptation to choke our little angels for getting into and messing up countless things. It's part of the charm of having cats, but it really stinks when it happens.

Your horror story makes me think I need to clean my own pens behind a closed door my cats can't enter.

I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your valued pen.

Yes, my all means have a good cry and get it all out!

I think closing the door before cleaning your pens is a good idea.

I have had cats in my home for many years. Despite what some folks say, cats are very intelligent and they can be trained. My kitty is an indoor cat, and she is welcome everywhere in the house, with exceptions. Those exceptions include bookshelves, countertops, and the dining table. Training occured early, and was no more complicated than catching her in the act of trespassing where she was not allowed, saying "No!" and following the verbal reprimand with a heavy hand to her little feline arse. When I see her eyeing a spot in a forbidden area for a jump up, I say "No!" and she knows the heavy hand will follow. After 12 years, she knows the routine very well.

I feel your pain-not that I have had that experiance (I clean pens in the sink after cleaning it, then laying paper towels in it, then keeping all bits in there, can't drop then, am I paranoid-probably-but it works), but your cat can be trained, I have taught mine to fetch, I throw siome thing small, say fetch and he runs, drags it back and drops it for me to throw again-purring madly the whole time, he is a chocolate point siamese-but I am sure other cats can be trianed too.

Sorry to hear about your loss. I caught one of our cats playing with a pen I had out on the kitchen counter -- it was in the process of being cleaned. A quick word of discipline and a swat of the backside and she hasn't approached my pens again. Of course, I'm also much more careful don't leave them out as long either.

Ah yes, I can understand

Last friday the cat jumps on the dining room table which was all se-up for dinner.

My wife wanted to pick him up to put him on the floor. At the moment she lift s him, he pulls out his fangs and grabs the table cloth ! Down went the bottle of wine, the two full red wine glasses etc etc.. Our white table cloth is now burgundy red.

Oh well, that's life.

J.F.

J-F-O, something I gleened from a discussion here on FPN: "A cat is God's reminder that our furniture is too expensive." It's a cute quote, until it's MY furniture. _ Or, as in this case, MY FP.

My condolences! Nothing worse than losing a favorite.

Puss and I have negotiated a truce. I do my pen cleaning on the kitchen counter and put down a dish towel for the pen pieces. This helps to keep them from rolling or dropping onto a hard surface. She knows not to jump onto the food prep surfaces and leaves them alone. We're both happier.

I can only imagine how you feel.

My cat is gloriously uninterested in the pens. The ferrets, however.... Well, that's a different story. One of them couldn't care less. The other one will try to grab any writing instrument right out of my hand. He just takes them and loves to hide them. I can't tell you how many of my pens I've found hidden in his stashes. So far there's only one that has tiny little teeth marks in it: an inexpensive plastic Reformer.

Can you post a pict?
... its morbid curiosity about all pen parts/construction, and problems/repair.

I've dropped a pen (or two) on a concrete floor in the past year ... after spending $$$ for the materials & pen parts; and spending over an hour turning it on the lathe and assembling it. So -- I have a large dose of empathy for you.

cheers -

-- joe

Forget the CATS!!! Watch out for the BRATS!!!
I love my children dearly but there are no words to describe the feeling of walking into the office and seeing your then 4 year old digging Daddy's MB 145 into the hard wood floor, bending the nib in half before you can intervene!!!!!! .
I'm sorry about the disaster. I sure hope that it can be mended.
We have 5 cats, but they live in the barn, not a place for pen cleaning.

okay, moving away from the cat problem: I sure haven't ever done this, but I think as long as it doesn't get anywhere between nib and feed a bit of Superglue cannot really do any harm. And if you're lucky the pen might work fine again.
Good luck

The black furbrat is the one who "assisted" me in this enterprise.

Yes, SuperGlue will work - but only if you apply the glue to the cat's paws and the tile floor.

;x

(Peck on the cheek, not a slip of the tongue.)

Thank you. I needed the laugh.

Umm, now that I've seen the pictures I'm not so sure about the Superglue. Post your pictures in the Repair Forum - I think you'll get more useful advice there.
Again, good luck
Nellie

I'm glad I have a dog. And that he's beyond the "Oh, that has momma's scent on it, I'll eat it" stage (prescription glasses, remote control.)

It looks like it could be s-glued but you'd have to be very careful not to obstruct the feed channel. Still, there may be a better way and the repair folks can help there if you haven't already gone there. Probably a matter of pulling the nib and finding a feed that fits. I think there are a lot of feeds out there in the hands of repair folks.

I'm sorry to hear about your pen. So far my cats haven't done damage to my pens, but then I clean and ink my pens in a room they're not allowed in.

I dropped a Visconti once and it broke off into several new pieces, which left me in tears. My husband put it back together with super glue. I still can't fathom what he did, but the pen was its old self again. Maybe some of the pen-repair gurus on this site can offer advice on yours.

Comiserations. I'm now convinced that my pen work is correctly protected - I always shut the kitchen door before doing anything to my pens.

Having seen the photo I think a pin and a bit of superglue could do the repair. Precision work though & I don't envy you having to do it.

Regards

Richard.

My mouth is literally hanging open and I am in-shock...what happened? Or should that question not be asked...?